I know.. I know.. It has been more than a month.. I have been absconding from the blogosphere , Facebook and in fact every other social network… You just wont believe , I hardly checked on my lil pea online.. if ever she is doing fine … But I m glad she is fine and all up and running…

I have had a relapse of flu and then cold n cough since the beginning of this year.. Practically tired and hoping every other day passes getting better.. Alas… I m here writing this post… so this surely reassures I m slightly better… Not 100% well to be precise… I just wish , that day comes past me , I can vouch .. well I am as fit as a fiddle… and lets go shopping …

We had a wonderful blogger meet sometime earlier last month… with 2 wonderful bloggers , Nayna & Jagruti and we yapped yapped and yapped…. shared experiences about travelling to India , spoke about our culture…, about our fussy food eaters at home and how smart could we get in tackling them… All over the sharing Mexican platters… I cherish all the lovely time we had together…

Sandhya’s Kitchen ( that’s v much ME) has been a secret admirer of one Indian online journal ever since I got to blogosphere… Even before I knew the difference of a personal blog to a website.. I have been hopping n admiring n drooling ( off course !!!) Soo much down to earth .. and every recipe on her space has a memory linked to it….. Simplicity in her posts make me want to do them right away any time…. Bingo !! I m talking about E-Curry and the pretty writer –Soma behind the scene..

Her presentation with food , art of bringing together the props soo beautifully.. I love it.. Specially the dark background pictures… Trust me .. it comes with practice…… I struggle with shooting them.. And Soma always shoots them soo well…

Soma … please do post luchi and aloo sabji that people get for breakfast in Kolkata.. I have had them in Gupta’s and roadside.. never got that authentic flavour anywhere after that.. I m not convinced with any blog post yet … Hope you are reading Soma…

I love her space.. So keep hoping over there…and show her how much you love tooo ..

This post was meant to be live here a couple of days back… Just that my health had been in a horrid state that I haven’t been able to do much.. Can u believe I haven’t picked the Camera for more than a month ??? Thank you for being soo patient and understanding me through this… Soma…

And finally…. lets read in Soma’s very own style…

Back in India, the late afternoon or evening tea break is like a ceremony (no, not the Japanese kind). I think it is just another fine excuse to be with friends and family or maybe even to overcome the hint of lazy after the big late lunch and the nap. Whatever the reason may be, the evening time for tea is an important part of the day for many, with a spread of food befitting a dinner.

Having both my parents in profession, we never enjoyed this luxury during the weekdays. The schedule would be more or less the same as we have now; the evenings filled with homework for me, cooking hot dinner and preparing for the next day for my ma, while my dad came back quite late. However the weekends were different. We would either have guests, or we would be in some one’s home or sometimes would be home, just by ourselves or with my dear grandparents enjoying the regional movies that was featured by the television every Saturday and Sunday about 5 o’ clock in the evening. It was also tea, snack and family o’clock.

One might dare compare the Indian tea affair with the English high tea in the extent of the spread of food; only we Indians tend to serve more savoury food than the delicate English cakes, pastries and scones.

A few months back, last year in October to be precise, I found an email from Sandhya, and I discovered her blog which she has built with love and dedication. She requested a guest post, and tied between so many different things as I was, it is only after so many months that I could do it for her. I really appreciate her patience! Sandhya is a warm friendly lady who hails from the southern regions, but brought up amidst the western coasts of India. Now she lives in London, keeping herself busy with her little one and her blog of course, cooking up food with “utmost affection” as she says, while infusing her roots and the diversity of her life in her kitchen delicacies too.

Among the other spread of lip smacking goodies, (sometimes some street food too, made at home of course), biscuits and crackers were the essentials; some to be dipped in the tea and some to accompany on the side. The one on the side would usually be the savoury kind. The general term used for it is “namkin”, which literally translates to anything savoury and spicy. Crackers or biscuits were not really made at home, unless they were those typical traditional kind or for an occasion; they were and still readily available in varieties of flavours at every store in the street corner or fresh in the bakeries. So if we needed them, we just had to walk, or at the most speed up on our bikes to get them.

This is one of the kind of spiced crackers I make at home, sometimes to re-live and to love those fun tea times, but mostly to keep a stack to snack on a couple of them once in a while. They stay fresh for a couple of weeks at room temperature, so they are really handy when you have to entertain on a quick notice. They also take very little time and effort to make.

Sandhya thank you so much for inviting me to you kitchen!

ALMOND ROSEMARY & PEPPER CRACKERS

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

6 tablespoons chilled unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

2/3 cup (plus 1 tablespoon) or just enough to make a smooth dough half & half or heavy/double/ cream

1/2 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper, or to taste

1.5 tablespoon dried rosemary, crushed/powdered

2 teaspoon crushed dried red pepper/pepper flakes , or to taste

more ground pepper/or red pepper flakes/or coarse salt to sprinkle on the top – optional

Cut in butter with a pastry blender or two knives until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in the 2/3 cup of half-and-half or cream (whatever you are using) until just moistened. Fold in the nuts.

On a lightly floured surface, knead dough gently, 5 to 10 times or for a minute. Divide the dough in two parts and roll each into a log; each about 8 inches long.

Slice each of the logs in about 1/4 inch circles.

Place on a baking sheet, 2 inches apart. Brush the top of the crackers with remaining tablespoon of half & half/cream. Sprinkle some coarsely ground black pepper, or red pepper flakes or even some coarse salt if you want. Bake until light golden, about 12-15 minutes. You might need to adjust baking time depending on the size of the cookies. The smaller cookies will bake faster.

Let cool completely on a wire rack. Store at room temperature in an air tight container after they are completely cooled.

Hey Sandhya, hope all is fine now. I too am a silent admirer of Soma's e-curry. I am so much more in love with her beautiful pictures…just cannot resist going over them many times.Beautifully written intro and guest post!

Hi Sandhya,Oh poor u..hope u r all better now.U know what i have the same story to tell..i was on and off on and off having cold and flu since november.Finally when I got rid of it last month i thought thats the end of it,but I m down again with a nasty cold. The seasonal virus is clinging on and not ready to leave 🙁Lovely guest post and beautiful pictures..

Hey, very nice site. I came across this on Google, and I am stoked that I did. I will definitely be coming back here more often. Wish I could add to the conversation and bring a bit more to the table,but am just taking in as much info as I can at the moment. Thanks for sharing.